Wine Dude: If the world's ending, you might as well go out in style

Dec. 13, 2012

These aged wines make excellent choices for your last two before the apocalypse. / Robert Scheer / The Star

I've had a nice time writing this column, and I want to say goodbye, just in case. On Dec. 21, there could be an alien invasion. Or the Earth might be ripped apart by the energy of some distant supernova.

Unless you've been in a wine cellar for the past five years (rim shot), you've heard of all the Mayan calendar prophecies, which basically could mean the end of the Earth. It's nonsense, of course, but it's a good excuse to open a special bottle, just in case.

I'm not the first person to conjure the idea, but I'm declaring Dec. 21 Open That Bottle Night for Wine Dude readers.

You probably know which one I'm talking about.

It's the wine your favorite aunt brought you from Italy, or that special (and expensive) bottle you bought yourself on your last good vacation before the economy tanked

Whatever it is, open up that bad boy! It's a bummer that Indiana laws apparently won't allow you to take that bottle into a restaurant to enjoy with your favorite "last" meal, but invite some friends over, or light some candles for your sweetie, and enjoy it!

I have two likely candidates. One is a 26-year-old French wine, a Chateau Talbot. Aged French Bordeaux like this is serious stuff. They can be a little difficult to appreciate, being all musty and such.

But underneath the smells of grandma's attic, you can find delicate aromas of a dewy forest, cherries, cigar box, cedar, mocha and ripe plums.

You can decant as much as you want, you'll never get that mature wine beauty out of a young one.

The last full year I spent in California was 1997, and I'm looking forward to seeing what this beauty says.

I have both bottles standing upright, so I can keep the sediment at the bottom of the bottle when it's time to pour them. No worry about the corks drying out in a few short weeks.

Gift ideas

If you need a last-minute gift, I have a couple of book suggestions. Both have been in circulation for a while and are among my favorites on wine: "The House of Mondavi," by Julia Flynn Siler, and "Great Wine Made Simple," by Andrea Robinson (nee Immer).

Siler's portrayal of the greatest family in American wine is a page-flipper. There's no wine-geek-speak, so it's a fantastic read for non-wine drinkers as well. Part Shakespeare, part "Dynasty," it chronicles the struggles of an Old World vintner from his early days through the selling off of the Mondavi empire in 2004 to an even larger empire. It's enthralling stuff.

Robinson's book is one I always recommend to new wine lovers. I'll talk about ideas for throwing a wine party down the road, but this book lays it all out for you, without an ounce of snobbery. I'd love to meet Robinson; she seems like good people.

Her blueprint is this: Hold a party with good representative samples of six key wines. As you taste wine made from these grapes, you'll see the differences in them. From there, you branch into Old World versus New World flavors, and tackle outlying grapes and styles.

I think regimented tasting like this is a wonderful way to understand wine and appreciate it better.

Wine and charity

It's a huge fundraiser and helps send deserving kids to college. One of the packages being offered involves a catered soiree, plus around 100 bottles of wine to open at the party and to save for the cellar.

I come along as part of the auction package to chat about wine and represent The Star. Friday night's ball will be a blast. I'm looking forward to it, and the to-be-determined catered event will be fun as well. If you're attending, say hi, and remember to open your wallet or purse during the auction.

Wine of the Week

I've been exploring Portuguese wines because of the value, and my Wine of the Week, Gazela, is from the Vinho Verde region, in the northwest part of the country. A blend of four local white grapes, Gazela is non-vintage and made to drink young.

If you can't seem to break away from white wines like Pinot Grigio, you should love this one.

It has only 9 percent alcohol, shows really nice apricot and floral aromas, good acidic balance, and a slight fizz that would be great with Sunday brunch or a plate of shellfish. It's $10 at Mass Ave wine Shoppe. I'd give it a B- minus.